Illuminating umbrella having solar powered illumination structure

ABSTRACT

An illuminating umbrella includes a canopy, a frame, a rechargeable battery, a film-shaped solar power device, and a flexible light-emitting device. The canopy has an inner surface and an opposite outer surface. The frame supports the canopy. The rechargeable battery is received in the frame. The film-shaped solar power device is spread on the outer surface of the canopy and electrically connected with the rechargeable battery. The flexible light-emitting device is attached on the inner surface of the canopy. The rechargeable battery is electrically connected to the flexible light-emitting device for providing electrical power to the flexible light-emitting device. The flexible light-emitting device is an organic light-emitting diode or a polymer light-emitting diode.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure generally relates to illuminating umbrellas, and particularly to an illuminating umbrella having an illumination structure powered by solar energy.

2. Description of the Related Art

Umbrellas have been used by us to shelter from the rain or sunlight. Illuminating umbrellas have also been designed to provide illumination for the convenience of night activities or serving as outdoor decoration or attracting automobile drivers' attention to the pedestrians, particularly in the raining nights.

However, the conventional illuminating umbrellas are always powered by batteries received therein, whereby the umbrellas require a power outlet or an extension cord to get the electrical power supply.

What is needed, therefore, is an illuminating umbrella which can overcome the above-mentioned problems.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Many aspects of the present umbrella can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present illuminating umbrella. Moreover, in the drawing, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of an illuminating umbrella in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a circuit of the illuminating umbrella of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic, cross-sectional view showing a canopy of the illuminating umbrella with a solar power device and a flexible light-emitting device coated thereon.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of an illuminating umbrella are described in detail here with reference to the drawings.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, an illuminating umbrella 100 in accordance with an embodiment includes a canopy 10, a frame 20, a rechargeable battery 30, a solar power device 40, a flexible light-emitting device 50, a switch 60, a USB interface port 70, and a light sensor 80.

The canopy 10 can be made of any commercially available material suitable for sheltering from the rain or sunlight. Preferably, the canopy 10 is made of a water resistant fabric and/or light reflective colors and materials in order to protect a user from rain or sunlight. In addition, the canopy 10 may be made of a flexible materials, such as epoxy, PMMA (poly(methyl methacrylate)), PI (polyimide), PVA (poly(vinyl alcohol)), PVP (poly(vinyl pyrrolidone)), PA (Polyamide), PVC (poly(vinyl chloride)), PE (polyethylene), PET (polyethylene terephthalate) etc. Further, the canopy 10 can optionally include pleats, allowing canopy 10 to expand and retract in an accordion-like fashion. In this manner, a size of the canopy 10 can be adjusted by bringing the umbrella closer together or thriller apart. The canopy 10 can be folded or rolled up in order to facilitate portability and storage. In addition, a thickness of the canopy 10 is generally equal to or less than 100 μm.

The frame 20 comprises a rod 21, a plurality of ribs 21 pivotally connected to the rod 21 by means of a first connector 221, and a handle 23 connected to a terminal of the rod 21. The ribs 22 extend radially from the first connector 221 that is affixed to the top end of the rod 21. Each rib 22 has a supporting bar 222 with one end pivotally connected to the rib 22, and the other end pivotally connected to a second connector 223. The second connector 223 is movable along the rod 21. The supporting bars 222 extend radially and outwardly from the second connector 223. In addition, the rod 21 and the handle 23 each have a hollow structure.

The rechargeable battery 30 is received in the rod 21 or the handle 23.

The rechargeable battery 30 is electrically connected to the flexible light-emitting device 50 for providing electrical power to the flexible light-emitting device 50 when illumination is desired. It is preferable that the rechargeable battery 30 is pre-recharged prior to use of the illuminating umbrella 100, so that it is capable of providing sufficient amount of electrical power to the flexible light-emitting device 50 when the solar power device 40 fails to provide sufficient amount of electrical energy in the beginning.

The solar power device 40 is actually film-shaped for converting the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect. As shown in FIG. 3, the solar power device 40 is spread on the outer surface of the canopy 10. The solar power device 40 is electrically connected with the rechargeable battery 30 by conducting wires (now shown). The solar power device 40 is configured for charging the rechargeable battery 30 during daylight hours. The solar power device 40 may be consisted of many single layer or multilayer organic photovoltaic cells/polymer solar cells. The organic solar cells and polymer solar cells are built from thin films (typically 100 nm) of organic semiconductors including polymers, such as polyphenylene vinylene and small-molecule compounds like copper phthalocyanine (a blue or green organic pigment) and carbon fullerenes and fullerene derivatives such as PCBM. PCBM is the common abbreviation for the fullerene derivative [6, 6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester.

The solar power device 40 further includes a protective layer 43 made of TiO₂ and coated on an outer surface thereof for absorbing UV light of the sunlight, such that the solar power device 40 would have a longer operating life. In the preferred embodiment, the protective layer 43 has a thickness in a range of 10 nm to 20 nm.

The flexible light-emitting device 50 may be OLEDs (organic light-emitting diodes) or the PLEDs (polymer light-emitting diodes). OLED is a light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compounds which emit light in response to an electric current. PLED involves an electroluminescent conductive polymer that emits light when connected to an external voltage. As shown in FIG. 3, the flexible light-emitting device 50 is attached on an inner surface of the canopy 10. The flexible light-emitting device 50 is electrically connected with the rechargeable battery 30 via wires (not shown) in the rod 21 or the handle 23.

As described above, the solar power device 40 and the light-emitting device 50 are both film-shaped and respectively attached onto the outer surface and the inner surface of the canopy 10; furthermore the light-emitting device 50 is flexible, so that the solar power device 40 and the light-emitting device 50 can be folded or expanded following the canopy 10.

The switch 60 is assembled onto the handle 23 for controlling the power going from the solar power device 40 to the rechargeable battery 30, or from the rechargeable battery 30 to the light-emitting device 50, such that the rechargeable battery 30 can be shifted to electrically connect to the solar power device 40 or the light-emitting device 50 by the switch 60.

The USB interface port 70 is placed on a terminal of the handle 23. The USB interface port 70 is electrically connected to the rechargeable battery 30; thus, the battery 30 can be used for charging an external electrical device, such as cell phone, PDA, GPS, MP3 et al. which connects to the interface port 70. The umbrella 100 may further include a suitable lid 71 for covering the USB interface port 70 when it is not in use.

The light sensor 80 is placed onto the top of the rod 21 and is electrically connected with the switch 60, for detecting ambient light level. When the ambient light intensity that the light sensor 80 detected is less than a pre-determined value, power from the rechargeable battery 30 can be allowed go to the flexible light-emitting device 50 by the switch 60, so that the flexible light-emitting device 50 is selectively light on for providing illumination.

While certain embodiments have been described and exemplified above, various other embodiments from the foregoing disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The disclosure is not limited to the particular embodiments described and exemplified but is capable of considerable variation and modification without departure from the scope of the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An umbrella comprising: a canopy comprising an inner surface and an opposite outer surface; a frame supporting the canopy; a rechargeable battery received in the frame; a film-shaped solar power device spread on the outer surface of the canopy and electrically connected with the rechargeable battery, the solar power device being configured for converting solar power into electric power and thereby charging the rechargeable battery; and a flexible light-emitting device attached on the inner surface of the canopy, the rechargeable battery being electrically connected to the flexible light-emitting device for providing electrical power to the flexible light-emitting device.
 2. The umbrella of claim 1, wherein the frame comprises a rod and a plurality of ribs pivotally connected to the rod, the canopy being connected to the ribs.
 3. The umbrella of claim 2, wherein the ribs are pivotally connected to the rod by a first connector, the ribs extend radially from the first connector that is affixed to a top end of the rod, each rib has a supporting bar with one end pivotally connected to the each rib, and the other end pivotally connected to a second connector, the second connector is movable along the rod, and the supporting bars extend radially and outwardly from the second connector.
 4. The umbrella of claim 2, wherein the rod is hollow and receives the rechargeable battery therein.
 5. The umbrella of claim 2, wherein the frame further comprises a hollow handle at a bottom end of the rod, the rechargeable battery is received in the rod or the handle.
 6. The umbrella of claim 5, further comprising a switch assembled onto the handle for controlling the power going from the solar power device to the rechargeable battery, or from the rechargeable battery to the light-emitting device.
 7. The umbrella of claim 5, further comprising a USB interface port placed on a terminal of the handle, the USB interface port is electrically connected to the rechargeable battery for charging an external electrical device.
 8. The umbrella of claim 2, further comprising a light sensor placed mounted onto the rod and is electrically connecting with the switch, for detecting ambient light level.
 9. The umbrella of claim 1, wherein a thickness of the canopy is no larger than 100 μm.
 10. The umbrella of claim 1, wherein the solar power device further comprises a protective layer made of TiO₂ and placed on an outer surface thereof for absorbing UV light.
 11. The umbrella of claim 10, wherein the protective layer has a thickness ranging from 10 nm to 20 nm.
 12. The umbrella of claim 1, wherein the light-emitting device is an organic light-emitting diode or a polymer light-emitting diode. 